Are you one of those people who like to buy a bunch of bananas only to watch them go bad in the fruit basket? It used to happen quite a bit in our house. I like bananas, but only when they are perfectly ripe, with a yellow peel and a flavorful (fruit)flesh. Once a banana gets overripe it tastes dry and tired. And so, for a long time, overripe bananas used to end up in the compost bin. Until I came across this irresistible banana bread recipe; moist, sticky, and not too sweet. I refined it with bittersweet chocolate, but if you prefer the basic version, simply skip the chocolate and reduce the baking time by ca. 10 minutes. Now, we all get excited about overripe bananas. I hope you like the recipe as well.

Best Chocolate Banana Bread

Recipe by Anna BembryCourse: Sweet breadsCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Simple

Servings

loaf

Prep time

minutes

Baking time

hour

Overripe bananas never tasted better!

Ingredients

120 g / 1 cup all-purpose flour
120 g / 1 cup whole wheat flour
210 g / 1 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 4 medium bananas)
80 g / 1/3 cup plain whole yogurt
60 g / 1/4 cup butter, melted
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
113.5 g / 4 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C / 355F. Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan with butter or cooking spray.
In a large bowl, whisk together flours, sugar, baking soda, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together mashed bananas, yogurt, melted butter, eggs, and vanilla extract. Fold banana mixture into flour mixture until well combined. Fold in chopped chocolate and transfer batter into the prepared baking pan.
Bake until a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 60 minutes. Let the bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and let cool down completely on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container.

Notes

Garnish your banana bread: Place a lengthwise cut banana on top of the batter, right before you put it in the oven.
Skip the chocolate and reduce the baking time by 10 minutes for a simple version of the banana bread.